“Update: We are aware that some taxpayers who have filed electronically and received an acknowledgement from the IRS are concerned when they visit “Where’s My Refund” and are told that we have no information regarding their return. This is a temporary situation, and we expect to resolve the matter in a few days. At that time, taxpayers will be able to get an expected refund date when they visit “Where’s My Refund.”
“If a taxpayer received an acknowledgment message that their e-filed tax return has been received, they can be assured that the IRS has the tax return even though “Where’s My Refund” does not reflect that. Taxpayers should not call the IRS unless specifically directed by “Where’s My Refund,” as there is no new information to give them.
“We expect the vast majority of tax refunds to continue to be issued within the historical range of 10 to 21 days. The IRS is taking steps to update information so that Where’s My Refund has current information. The IRS apologizes for any inconvenience and will provide updated information as soon as possible.”

At the start of the tax season, the IRS was issuing tax refunds about a week later than it initially told people who used the Where’s My Refund tool. That glitch affected people who filed electronically between Jan. 17 and 25 and chose direct deposit for their refund.

In late January the IRS said that delay “relates to fine-tuning IRS systems to adjust for new safeguards put in place this tax season to provide stronger protection against refund fraud.” That glitch was supposed to be fixed by the 26th.

Julie Miller, a spokeswoman for TurboTax, said the latest notice was posted Friday.

“What the (tax-preparation) industry is hearing is that IRS has a legacy system and a new modernized e-file system” and the latest problems are related to the new system. “The IRS is aware that the Where’s My Refund tool that gives you an estimated date for your refund has been intermittently not working. It is supposed to update every 72 hours, that doesn’t consistently happen.”

Scott McMillan of Mill Valley said he e-filed his federal return Feb. 1. “I waited 72 hours, then went to the Where’s My Refund Web site and there was no information about my account.” Two days later, he logged in again and was told his refund would arrive Feb. 21. “But if you try it today, it just errors out. They are obviously having issues.”

The situation “is very concerning for taxpayers,” Miller said. “We are telling people if you file through TurboTax and you get an acknowledgment that your return has been accepted, as long as you have that you are good.” You don’t need to refile.